v18n24 - Lonely Farewells

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Lonely Farewells Physicians Weep, Plead for Community Compliance Judin, pp 18 - 20

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contents

JACKSONIAN

July 22 - August 4, 2020 Vol. 18 No. 24

ON THE COVER Dr. Andy Wilhelm and MICU nurse manager Ashley Moore Photo courtesy UMMC Communications

4 Editor’s Note 7 Talks 10 Opinion 12 Best of Jackson 18 Cover Story 21 Music

I

n her 15 years at Jackson State University, La’Kitha Hughes has learned that teamwork is a vital component to getting the job done, and she considers herself part of a larger team. The 43year-old associate director of Jackson State University’s Facilities and Construction Department doesn’t mind climbing a roof to check a leak or walking the campus to pick up trash. She understands that the department is only as good as the members in it.

“I try to empower everyone,” Hughes said. “All of our roles are important, no matter whether you cut the grass, clean the restroom or change a lightbulb. Everybody has an important role and we all are pieces of the puzzle that make it all work.”

The Grenada native understands the importance of each cog in the wheel. She worked her way up through the department, beginning as a staff assistant in 2005 and holding various roles before obtaining her current position in 2018. She currently manages 46 employees—including painters, carpenters, electricians and grounds crews—and oversees the essential areas such as transportation, the warehouse, the customer care unit and university assets.

In May, Hughes was awarded the Southeastern Regional Association of Physical Plant Administrators, or SRAPPA, scholarship. The endowment will cover the registration and travel costs to attend the second level of the Association of Physical Plant Ad-

22 Tri-County Battleplan

La’Kitha Hughes ministrators Leadership Academy. Hughes attended level one of the training in 2019 after receiving APPA’s Women in Leadership scholarship. “I learned a lot about myself in that first level (of the academy),” Hughes said. “This (next) one will deal more with how you manage.”

Hughes holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in technology from Mississippi State University. She is currently completing her doctorate in higher education leadership at Jackson State in addition to preparing for the Certified Educational Facilities Professional exam.

She serves on several university committees including the SACS Accreditation Task Force, President’s Strategic Planning Team and the COVID Task Force. She is also an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and is currently a candidate for a national position with the organization.

Hughes believes that participating in the training will help her and her department better service the needs of the campus.

“I’m always thinking about trying to benefit what I call our community here. That’s our faculty, staff and students. That’s what it’s all about. Making sure that we provide the best services for them,” she said.

—Torsheta Jackson

As schools reopen for the fall semester, Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties have distributed information on their reopening plans amid the pandemic.

24 Got Produce?

Glance over the list of local farmers markets presently available within the metro.

25 ’70s-Inspired Summer Baker lists six fun activities families can safely do together as summer vacation comes to a close.

26 Puzzles 26 Sorensen 27 astro 27 Classifieds

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

courtesy La’Kitha Hughes

22 Back to School

3

editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

A

s a Neshoba County kid, I grew up in the shadows of the Confederate statue that loomed in front of the courthouse. When we’d go to town on Saturdays, I’d pass the rebel soldier on my way to JCPenney to put clothes on layaway or, on his other side, to Hamill Drugstore for my Coke and pack of Nabs.

I’d walk around the “rebel soldier” (as everyone called him) on the way into the tiny public library just inside the courthouse, but I never stopped to read his statue engravings. He was just there.

As a young teenager, I was acutely aware of racism and the flinging of the n-word, as well as the horrific bigotry toward Choctaws. When I was 14, I learned of the murders of civil-rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner for the first time, although it happened when I was 3

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

I angrily wondered what else they hadn’t told me.

4

and at the hands of men we knew. That included Cecil Price who fixed my birthstone ring at the tiny City Jewelry next to Hamill’s. I learned about the murders in a CBS TV movie, not in school.

Neshoba Central taught us nothing about racism, lynchings or the Civil Rights Movement. Our textbooks, and many teachers, glorified the Old South, taught that slavery was helpful to the enslaved, that the “War Between the States” was glorious, and that carpetbaggers and scalawags ruined Reconstruction. They sure taught nothing critical of the South, even as many white people around me were continuing to make the former Confederacy look bad daily.

When I learned about the murders, my 14-year-old appetite to learn real history was suddenly voracious. I angrily wondered what else they hadn’t told me.

Still, I didn’t yet get that the statue was erected as a symbol of white supremacy by organizations and people who wanted to revise the war the South started to maintain and extend slavery to new states. These same people enacted horrific Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise and mire Black Mississippians into pov-

erty and powerlessness to protect their own greed and control, and many of their kids would inherit their beliefs.

The statue was part of my upbringing, as was the sheet music for “Dixie” that our high-school band played at the Neshoba County Fair with old white men standing at attention saluting. It was all part of the indoctrination to convince younger minds these were symbols of pride—but they were there to keep us ignorant, complacent and racist, willing to keep the old systems in place.

I was excited when I came back to Philadelphia in 2001 to research my master’s project, finding the generic soldier statue off his pedestal and sitting inside the courthouse door, missing an arm. Maybe they won’t put him back up, I hoped, knowing by then what he repped. But doubt set in when I interviewed a young white attorney in his firm in the old hoity-toity dress shop the statue stared at, and he had rebel flags everywhere, on everything. He was proud that you had to walk on one flag built into his floor; I was proud to step on it.

On Monday, July 20, the Neshoba County Board of Supervisors voted 4-to-1, along race lines, to keep the nowrestored rebel soldier on his pedestal after the local Black Empowerment Organization, formed there after George Floyd’s horrific death, called for its removal. The four white men are more or less my age, and were probably taught the same lies and distortions growing up, as were their prize constituents. In one way or the other, they still pledge fealty to a treasonous fight against the United States, fought to prevent freedom and equality for all.

Those supervisors don’t yet know

Donna Ladd

Life in the Shadows of Neshoba County’s Confederate Statue Neshoba County’s rebel soldier stares at a law office and other businesses from his perch on the courthouse lawn. It’s time for him to go.

what they don’t know, or they don’t care because they still believe in what their ancestors told them. Either way, it was a vote for white supremacy, which I’m sure they would all deny vehemently because white supremacists nearly always do.

They are egged on by long-time newspaper owner Jim Prince III, who throws around the nonsensical phrase “cultural marxist” toward anyone who challenges the way Mississippi does things still, or hasn’t changed. He had a glory moment once on race, participating in the Philadelphia Coalition that called for a modicum of justice finally, leading to the conviction of 1964 lynchmob boss Edgar Ray Killen right in that courthouse, yards behind the statue.

That was glorious to watch—I covered the trial—but it’s not like defeating racism is a one-and-done act, especially when it’s over 41-year-old murders.

contributors

Nick Judin

Taylor Hathorn

Kayode Crown

State reporter Nick Judin grew up in Jackson and graduated from the University of Mississippi. He is covering this year’s legislative session. Try not to run him over when you see him crossing State Street. He wrote the cover.

Taylor McKay Hathorn is an alumna of Mississippi College’s English program and a student at Asbury Theological Seminary. She enjoys binging TV shows, watching the sun set over the Mississippi River and tweeting her opinions @_youaremore_. She wrote Best of Jackson blurbs.

City Reporter Kayode Crown came to Mississippi from Nigeria where he earned a post-graduate diploma in Journalism and was a journalist for 10 years. He likes rock music and has fallen in love with the beautiful landscapes in Jackson. He wrote about JPS’ fall-semester school reopening plans.

What a good newspaper owner would do is lead deep journalism into the effects of the Confederates’ apartheid laws and violence long past Appomattox.

What are the embedded inequities? Solutions? Instead, he bashes a minor boy who protested in front of Philadelphia High School for better education because a word was misspelled on his sign.

Prince claimed online that “our community forever changed the trajectory of race relations in Mississippi” after the Coalition’s call for justice in ’94, adding that “Marxist” Black Lives Matter folks oppose the “nuclear family.”

Sorry, Jim, that trajectory has not changed when 42% of Black people in the town you serve live below the poverty line and public-education facilities vary strongly in two schools miles apart.

The “Black Lives Matter” movement sweeping the nation is not a monolithic, scary organization—it’s stronger than that. It is now a vital shift in thinking that challenges the legacies of systemic and structural racism and inequity, which is symbolized by four white men refusing to move a figure of Black oppression off a courthouse lawn. Hey, white dudes did the same thing in the intellectual oasis of Oxford, Miss., so it’s not just Neshoba grasping its racist past.

But my hometown, with our deep reservoirs of violent pain and overly simplistic reputation of being the most hateful place in the U.S., should seize this opportunity to lead, just as people there did back in 1994. Otherwise, that overdue conviction was a fleeting victory.

Follow @donnerkay on Twitter.

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ce eren rev

Mitigating COVID-19 Risk if School Reopens courtesy JPS

F

elicia Donaldson’s granddaughter Anajah has not taken well to online learning since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Jackson.

The Bates Elementary School student stays with her grandmother at Woodville Apartments in Jackson, and was “homeschooled” after the shutdown of schools from mid-March as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

But the being forced to stay and participate in classes at home was challenging for Anajah, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Donaldson said Anajah found the online-centric studies not engaging enough.

“(She has) nothing to do. We don’t let them go out too much,” Felicia said.

Due to Anajah’s ADHD, Donaldson is afraid of how Anajah is going to cope when she goes back to school and for her safety because of COVD-19. She doesn’t want her to stop her schooling, so she faces a dilemma.

“The only issue I have is the mask issue. She has ADHD, and she is not going (to) put on a mask all day,” Anajah’s grandmother said. “She’s not going to keep on the mask. She will take it off; she’s going to get in trouble. Because she has ADHD, she’s not going to just sit there and not move. Kids with a disability (like hers) are not going to sit in one spot and stay 6 feet from the other kids because they are going to get up and move around.”

During the rest of the 2019-2020 school year, with school closed, Anajah was fortunate to have computer and internet access at home to continue with online remote learning.

“She got on the computer and did her work,” Donaldson said. “She did pretty good, but you have to stay on the computer with her for that amount of time.”

That was especially challenging for her, and it means having Anajah at home with her for her studies is something she would like to avoid if she can.

Donaldson had to combine helping Anajah with her job at Veterans Affairs, to-

JPS Superintendent Errick Greene laid out the reopening plans for public schools in Jackson on June 16—both in-school and distance-learning options.

gether with taking care of the other children who live with her. Mississippi Department of Health data do not indicate a COVID19-fatality among children under 18, but 43 have been hospitalized. They tend to do better than other age groups.

Donaldson, nevertheless, has a simple demand that the school is made safe for the kids when they go back.

“I am kind of nervous about sending her back,” Felicia said. “I do want her to complete her education, but when it comes to this coronavirus, we don’t know where other kids are coming from.”

Safe Reopening A Must

As with Donaldson, the safe fall return of students to schools occupied the minds of protesters gathered last month before the Mississippi Governor’s mansion.

The Institute for Democratic Education in America organized the sparsely attended protest. The group said n its website at democraticeducation.org that its recent efforts include offering anti-racism courses for white educators, and stated that it seeks to change the narrative, practice, and policy around public education, in a quest for education justice.

Albert Sykes, the executive director of IDEA, said the low turnout was possibly because of the short notice for the protest.

The whole thing was put together under one week.

But there is another plausible reason for the low turnout. Sykes said Mississippi had just recorded a spike in COVID-19 cases, which unsettled people and made them wary of leaving their homes and gathering together indoors or outdoors.

Sykes wants to add to the conversation on reopening schools and to draw attention to the problem of educational inequality the pandemic exacerbates and exposes.

“Since our schools are closed, there are students who don’t have access to the internet, who don’t have smartphones and are not able to do virtual learning,” he said.

“We also have students who are not able to make it to the feeding programs and the work packets’ pick-up site for things that keep them engaged (outside) school.”

Sykes says his organization seeks full education funding, relevant curriculum, equipment, as well as better teacher pay and safety for the students when they resume.

He wants the schools sanitized, clean and ready to serve the children.

Mississippi Association of Educators President Erica Jones, who attended the IDEA protest, wants focus on creating safe and healthy classrooms for educators and students, with personal protective equipment and training in distance learning.

Jones said the number of COVID19 cases in Mississippi is a cause for concern, and she does not want educators and students sent to unsafe spaces.

A Computer Per JPS Student

Jackson Public School Board Vice President Edward Sivak has two children in Jackson Public schools. He appeared before the Jackson City Council on July 7 for re-appointment to the board for a new term of five years. In his remarks, he revealed some of the reopening plans of the board.

“I anticipate that the reopening will be measured, with equipment, with personal more JPS Reopening, p 8

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

by Kayode Crown

7

TALK JXN

JPS REOPENING, from page 7

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

Kayode Crown

protective equipment, and learning comperson, please consider the option of vir- go virtual. We will utilize the technology opening plan is on the school district webputers to keep our students, faculty and tual learning and transporting them to and that we have and other resources that we site www.jackson.k12.ms.us, where fall staff safe while fully engaged in the learnfrom school,” Greene wrote in anticipation have,” the JPS superintendent said. school registration is ongoing. Parents and ing process,” he said. of August reopening.

At the press briefing, Greene was guardians can choose virtual and traditional

Sivak said the plan is to buy thou Then, under the blazing Mississippi clear that reopening is like walking a learning for elementary and middle school sands of computers to cover all JPS stusun outside JPS’ downtown offices on July tightrope between the need to educate and between hybrid and virtual for high dents and teachers.”(JPS) will the children and the fear of fur- schools. move to a one-to-one district. ther spread of the virus that has What that means is that any child upended the world.

What Would Close Schools? that needs a laptop and WIFI ac Mayor Chokwe A. Lu- The Jackson Free Press asked Greene cess at home will be able to have mumba, who attended the brief- what it would take to close down schools one. We are using our CARES ing, said it is like choosing be- once they are open. He said that it depends Act money to purchase those detween “bad” and “worse.” on the number of recorded infections and vices,” he said. “That is to ensure

“This is a very difficult time if it is contained within a class or a school. that every child who needs a deand a very unique time where so The Mississippi Department of Eduvice will get one, regardless of if many areas of our lives have been cation does not give a definitive rule for they have one at home or not.” challenged and we have been shutting down classrooms or schools after

Because the focus is not just required to be flexible in this they reopen. As a general guideline, it states for the students but also on evtime,” Lumumba said. “I shared that “elevated cases within a group or classeryone living in their households, with Superintendent Greene just room may require more extensive quaranhe said, the reopening plan will yesterday that when I took office tine; certain case levels may necessitate teminclude the options for full virthat (someone told me) some- porary dismissal of students in particular tual learning, full classroom and times you will be asked to choose classes or buildings, or closure of the entire hybrid learning. between a bad decision and a school; school closures and dismissals may

“We have to keep our stuworse decision, and this quite be reactive or if schools are dismissed temdents safe, our faculty safe, our honestly is one of those times.” porarily, discourage students and staff from staff, our family. As we move

The answer probably gathering or socializing anywhere, like at a to the fall, there will be virtual lies somewhere in between, friend’s house, a favorite restaurant, or the education going on across the especially with Gov. Tate Reeves’ local shopping mall.” district; there may also be some Shonnie Cooley, the project coordinator for Parents current plans that public school “We have received some guidance hybrid approaches,” Sivak, the for Public Schools, says the pandemic has made the will reopen in early August, de- from CDC and other health officials,” executive vice president and chief relationship between teachers and parents better. spite Mississippi’s worsening Greene said. “That guidance (will help to policy and communications offiCOVID-19 crisis. identify) the threshold that we will idencer for Hope Federal Credit Union, said.

16, Greene addressed the reopening plans JPS’ reopening guidelines contain the tify for any kind of closure, whether it’s by

“We recognize that we have a role for the district, which serves nearly 24,000 usual suspects: regular cleaning, regular school, or around the district. While we to play in the larger community, first and students in 57 locations across Jackson. handwashing, social distancing, daily deep haven’t landed on the exact threshold, yet, foremost making sure people are safe, and He said the policy is subject to adjustment cleaning and regular disinfecting of high- we will continue to be in conversation with also continue to advance academic outtouch points and restrooms, compulsory health officials and to see some of the modbased on new information coming in. comes, (and) if family members, parents

The most egregious of those changes wearing of facial covering and daily temper- els and strategies utilized by some of our and guardians want to keep their children would be having to close down the whole ature checks for students using the school peers in other districts.” at home, out of concern, out of safety, that school district again. But that will be the buses and others coming with private Greene promised to provide hotspot they will have the technology to do that.” extreme case, Greene said. means of transportation. To accommodate devices for needy families to support online

“If we have a situation where we all spectrum of learners, virtual learning is learning and said that the experiences of Superintendent: Reopening Plans have to pivot and close schools, close the an option for all grade levels. some teachers and young people involved

JPS Superintendent Errick Greene district, close individual schools, we will The document containing the re- with virtual learning over the summer shared the district’s reopening goals in a June 20 letter: providing the option of a robust and equitable virtual learning program; providing personal protective equipith schools ment for scholars and staff; incorporating a across the state protocol for temperature checks upon enpreparing to trance into schools; developing guidelines reopen, for for and limiting school visitors, providing better or worse, scholastic Graduate Supply House (390 Commerce Park Educational Masters Specialists (120 Village the necessary training for staff members resources may be on the Drive, 601-982-9519, gradsupply.com) Graduate Blvd., Suite B, Madison, 601-856-9784, edmat. and parents/guardians, and adhering to minds of administrators, Supply House creates caps and gowns available for com) EMS partners with a number of brands Centers for Disease Control guidelines educators and parents. graduates, choirs or others to rent or purchase. to offer educational software programs that are regarding distancing to the extent feasible.

Fortunately, Jackson scientifically researched and

“We’re preparing to take several prehouses a handful of School Book Supply Company of Mississippi are proven to increase student cautions to reduce the inherent safety risks locally owned businesses (4365 Michael Avalon St., 601-352-7272, performance, including ELS, as we come together in schools. For those that provide goods and schoolbook-ms.com) School Book Supply serves as PD Analytics, Review360, scholars with pre-existing health challenges services to those in the a depository for publishers from which schools MindPlay, Ascend Math and for those parents/guardians choosing metro, around the state across Mississippi purchase their textbooks.

Solution and BrightFish not to have their scholars attend school in and beyond.

Reading.

8

W

Local Scholastic Resources to Consider

KAYODE CROWN

TALK JXN

JPS REOPENING

now provide a template to build on.

“We have gotten a lot of feedback.

There are things that we will like to change, improve upon, but there are certain things that worked well,” Greene said.

JPS is encouraging families to choose virtual learning if they can.

“Giving the ongoing health concerns, we are urging all families who are able to select the virtual model to do so,” Greene’s guidelines state.

On school-bus safety, the document said: “Temperature checks will be performed before boarding buses. Drivers will

be masked and gloved. Scholars will sit in designated areas with mandatory facial coverings. Disinfecting will occur between routes in high touch areas.”

JPS will provide grades 3 through 12 with two washable and reusable facial coverings and one face shield for grades Pre-K to grade 2 because “facial coverings will be required from the boarding of the school bus or arrival on campus through the end of the school day.”

Mitigating the risk of the virus will also have an effect on athletics and co-curricular activities, with middle-school and junior KAYODE CROWN

Albert Sykes, the Jackson-based executive director of Institute for Democratic Education in America, wants focus to be on students’ safety in schools.

varsity football shifted to 2021.

JPS leadership committed to launching a mobile app with push notifications for important updates and to providing hand sanitizers, soap, gloves and disinfectants to students and employees.

Better Relationship with Teachers Shonnie Cooley, the project coordinator for Parents for Public Schools, is a 20year resident of Jackson. She told the Jackson Free Press that many parents are saying their relationship with teachers is better since COVID-19, while commending JPS for the way it navigated the pandemic shock to the local educational system.

“From the feedback that I have gotten from parents, the teachers did well to accommodate students,” Cooley said. “They did some homework packages for those that don’t have access to the internet to deliver to the parents they knew did not have access to the internet.”

“For those that did, they did some virtual tutorials on different subjects; they did all these cool videos. It helped the student. They made phone calls to parents just to check in, asking, ‘how are you, how are your family doing?’”

The nonprofit organization she works for focuses on parents’ engagement with public school, and she now believes that

Mississippi Association of Educators President Erica Jones wants teachers trained in distant learning.

COVID-19 has reduced the parent-teacher relationship gap.

“Parents feel more comfortable with their teachers now,” she said.

Cooley added that the pandemic has also made people appreciate the role of teachers more, because of what caregivers like Donaldson went through during the time she had to help educate Anajah.

Email story tips to city/county reporter Kayode Crown at kayode@jacksonfreepress. com. You can follow Kayode on Twitter at @kayodecrown.

Jackson Museum Trail Construction Begins

by Kayode Crown

Dr. Clay Hays highlighted the economic and health benefits of the Jackson Museum Trail.

city of Jackson and to the state. I am so pleased as commissioner to be a part of the ceremony and part of the support system to do this.”

Construction should start this month. A volunteer effort to raise money to add amenities to the trail is ongoing.

Visit www.jxntrailblazers.com.

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

MOST VIRAL STORIES AT JFP.MS: 1. “OPINION: Beloved Rep John Lewis: ‘Son, Your Generation Must Speak Up’” by Duvalier J. Malone 2. “Record-Shattering New Cases of COVID19 in Mississippi, Now a Pandemic ‘Red Zone’”

by Nick Judin 3. “Leaders Choose Mostly White Commission to Help Design State Flag Without Rebel Symbol”

by Emily Wagster Pettus 4. “Readers’ Designs for New Mississippi Flag #MSFlagDIY” 5. “OPINION: Southern Evangelical: Trump ‘Fits the Scriptural Definition of a Fool’” by Fred Rand

tion of North Jefferson Street and Mississippi Street, for the groundbreaking ceremony of the $1.6-million project.

Neel-Schaffer Engineers designed the project, and Hemphill Construction has the contract to build it.

“We anticipate that the project will be completed by the end of October,” Hays, a cardiologist and vice president of the Jackson Heart Foundation, said.

“It’s something that is going to be a great boom for Jackson. Hundreds of people have participated in this project, people from the city, state, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Blue Cross (and) Blue Shield, the medical community, the schools.”

The trail will connect the Children’s Museum, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, the Mississippi Farmers Market on High Street and the Two Mississippi Museums.

“The Department of Transportation has been part of the project for 10 years to work to get resources, to work with the City of Jackson and all the other entities, both public and private, that have worked so hard to make this trail possible,” Central District Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons said at the ceremony. “It is going to be very, very beneficial to the

KAYODE CROWN

T

he Jackson Museum Trail, a 2.5-mile, 10-foot wide multi-use path, stretching from downtown Jackson to Lakeland Drive, will enhance quality of life and spur economic growth, Clay Hays of Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership says.

Dozens of people gathered July 15 at the southern end of the Mississippi Farmers Market, near the intersec-

9

Dr. Flonzie Brown wright

O

ur paths first crossed in 1965 in Mississippi. I had seen John Lewis numerous times on TV, especially in 1963 at the March on Washington. Many activists spent a lot of time working in Mississippi, particularly in counties where there was a high concentration of potential unregistered African American voters. In meeting this Soul Giant, as consider him, it was obvious that his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement had been clearly defined. He had suffered much physical harm at the hands of a system defined by the ugliness of racism.

It was also clear to me that John epitomized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy that you must not victimize yourself by hating those who perpetrated unequal and discriminatory treatment of the oppressed. John, as he liked to be called, was passionate about using his voice and his body to obtain the right to vote for our people, no matter the cost—and it was extremely costly.

Shortly after the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, John concentrated his efforts on providing funds for Black people who were running for political office, particularly in counties where there was a Black majority. He founded The Voter Education Project (VEP), for the purpose of funding rides to the polls on election day(s), as well as food for the drivers. It

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

“I am stronger because our paths crossed.”

10

was not unusual for John to come into my hometown of Canton, Miss., and other towns with money for this purpose. Other times, he would send funds to the NAACP office where I worked as branch manager.

When I was elected to the position of election commissioner in 1968, VEP provided financial assistance to me to help increase voting. Thanks to John, we were able to organize, hire and feed drivers to ensure that anyone who was registered to vote would have the opportunity.

After my election, I invited John

AlAbAmA Dept. of Archives AnD history

John Robert Lewis: ‘A Soul Giant’ Who Touched Mississippi and Me

Editor-in-Chief and CEO Donna Ladd Publisher & President Todd Stauffer Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin Creative Director Kristin Brenemen REPORTERS AND WRITERS City Reporter Kayode Crown State Reporter Nick Judin State Intern Julian Mills Contributing Writers Dustin Cardon, Bryan Flynn, Alex Forbes, Jenna Gibson, Tunga Otis Torsheta Jackson, Mike McDonald, Anne B. Mckee, EDITORS AND OPERATIONS Deputy Editor Nate Schumann JFPDaily.com Editor Dustin Cardon Executive Assistant Azia Wiggins Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Designer Zilpha Young Contributing Photographers Seyma Bayram, Acacia Clark, Nick Judin, Imani Khayyam, Ashton Pittman, Brandon Smith

Activist Flonzie Brown Wright, left, and John Lewis, right (holding ladder), listen as Annie Devine, known as the “Mother of the Movement,” stands on the ladder addressing a huge crowd of marchers from across the country in Canton, Miss., in support of James Meredith’s 1966 March Against Fear.

and Georgia legislator Julian Bond as featured speakers at the first community meeting in the Madison County Courthouse. Incidentally, this is the same courthouse where scores of Black Mississippians had been, in some cases, savagely escorted and/blocked from attempting to register.

During James Meredith’s March Against Fear in 1966, John was a visible representative of Dr. King and others.

Thanks to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, we have two photos of the historic event. Mrs. Annie Devine, known as the “Mother of the Movement,” is standing on top of a ladder addressing a huge crowd of marchers from across the country in Canton in support of the march. John, a number of other supporters and I are featured in this photo. Just after Mrs. Divine spoke, I spoke from that same ladder.

John and I kept in touch over the years. In 2004, he was invited to keynote the 40th-anniversary observance of Mississippi Freedom Summer at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. As Student Affairs Scholar in Residence, it was my honor and privilege to introduce him.

In 2018, he was invited to be the keynote speaker at New Hope Baptist Church during the annual “Back in the Day” Black History celebration. I was surprised that he called me personally to express his regrets that he could not attend because of pressing business “on the Hill.”

I will always take with me his legacy

as a Soul Giant because he lived and breathed his passion, which was to do all he could, while he could to elevate the cause of human dignity. Even though like Martin, he was short in stature, his words and actions towered well above racism, bigotry and hate.

Allow me to suggest how we can all honor him, whether your paths crossed with John or not. Let’s go to the polls in record numbers this November to continue the work he left behind. Every generation has an assignment. He, Dr. C.T. Vivian and Rev. Joseph Lowery, all of whom we lost this year, provided the bridge for us to continue to seek justice for all.

One of the best ways to remember John is to look and listen to the young voices who are speaking out today for human and civil rights. John often spoke to young people of all races and nationalities and challenged them: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic.

Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year; it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

My life is better, and I am stronger because our paths crossed.

Dr. Flonzie Brown Wright is the first African American woman elected to public office in the state of Mississippi in the biracial town of Canton, Miss., in 1968.

This column does not necessarily reflect the views of the JFP.

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11

BEST OF JACKSON // HOME

Best of Jackson: Household 2020

L

et’s face it. Not all of us are handy enough to be able to fix every malfunction our household may experience or bring every passion project we envision for our homes to life. Fortunately, we do not have to try, not when this year’s Best of Jackson: Household 2020 pop-up ballot lists a number of local resources that can help you maintain your home, whatever your needs.

Best Heating & AC Service; Best Plumber/ Plumbing Service: Environment Masters

Best Contractor; Best Roofers/Roofing Company: Watkins Construction and Roofing

(168 E. Porter St., 601-353-4681, environmentmasters.com)

(1072 High St., 601-202-8363, watkinsconstructioninc.com)

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

12

Best Plumber/Plumbing Service Finalists: Dent Air Conditioning and Plumbing (250 Highpoint Drive, Ridgeland, 601-366-5338, dentairconditioning.com) / Short’s Plumbing and Heating (5740 Highway 80 W., 601922-5335) / Weiand Plumbing (Clinton, 601-540-5972, weiandplumbingms. com) / Wright Plumbing (Madison, Ridgeland, north Jackson, 601-8983223; Rankin County, 601-591-1553; Clinton, south Jackson, 601-925-1707; wrightplumbinginc.com) Best Heating and AC Service Finalists: AirMax Heating & Cooling (3010 Lakeland Cove, Suite L, Flowood, 601-939-0015, airmax.ms) / Dent Air Conditioning and Plumbing (250 Highpoint Drive, Ridgeland, 601-366-5338, dentairconditioning.com) / Modern Air (5243 Greenway Drive Extension, 601-202-5968, mymodernair.com)

Acacia Clark

courtesy Enviornment Masters

Environment Masters strives to provide hassle-free plumbing and airconditioning, and in the view of the nearly 12,000 five-star reviewers featured on the business’ website, they certainly deliver.

Advertising over a dozen individual Josh Guillot, Plumbing Manager; Raymond Nalty, plumbing services, President; Ben Nalty, HVAC Service Manager Environment Masters is a one-stop shop to help meet the plumbing needs of those in the metro area—providing everything from video pipe inspections for pinpointing the sources of pesky plumbing problems to emergency plumbing for issues too urgent to wait for an appointment.

Since the company founded in 1957, Environment Masters has since expanded, employing over 100 skilled workers and operating a fleet of 65 vehicles.

“We don’t really operate like a business; we operate like a family. That’s inspired growth and helped us retain employees,” Manager Ben Nalty, who is part of the company’s third generation of family ownership, said.

The company’s services extend beyond household problems, providing assistance to local businesses as well. Environment Masters even offers estimates for larger jobs, working to provide commercial customers with competitive prices for amenities such as water heaters and water filtration systems.

As Mississippi residents themselves, the technicians understand the importance of a functional heating and cooling system in the extreme Mississippi weather, the website says.

To keep these necessary systems running efficiently, the company has sought out environmentally friendly ways of keeping indoor temperatures at optimal levels, such as “SunSource,” a solar HVAC system noted to reduce electric costs by up to 50%. Environment Masters also aids in combating air-loss by offering services to properly seal and repair the duct systems.

—Taylor McKay Hathorn

When Watkins Construction and Roofing completes a job, the Fortune 500 company Owens Corning gives the work its seal of approval—which comes with a 50year warranty.

The 50-year commitment begins with the company’s seven-step process, which encompasses everything from an initial free estimate to a final inspection by a project manager once the job is complete.

“During the seven-step process, I make sure everyone facilitates their portion (of the process),” owner and operator Michael Dier said.

“Throughout the years, I’ve done just about everything, but now that I’m in a leadership position, I monitor quality and invest in people, working with their leadership qualities.”

Watkins offers roof repair and replacement services, along with cosmetic improvement options, such as skylights, gutters and siding.

For customers who take advantage of Watkins’ full array of services, a live operator is available for online assistance 24/7, along with on-site supervision during construction activity.

Given that many Jacksonians live in apartment-style housing and therefore do not make such home-improvement choices themselves, the company has long since learned to work closely with landlords and building managers to provide commercial roofing services and to keep existing roofs safe by repairing damage, checking vents and inspecting for molds and mildews.

The company also provides an elaborate blog for its clients, which walks customers through home-renovation decisions such as shingle selections and the ideal timing of roof replacements. Watkins even offers a checklist to help customers identify a suitable contractor for their home-improvement projects.

—Taylor McKay Hathorn Best Contractor Finalists: 4 Sons Construction / Christian Cowan Builder (1070 Lakeland Village Circle, Suite A, Brandon, 601-942-3224, christiancowanbuilder.com) / Complete Exteriors (4725 Highway 80 E., Pearl, 601203-4537) Best Roofers/Roofing Company Finalists: Complete Exteriors (4725 Highway 80 E., Pearl, 601-203-4537) / Renova Roofing and Construction (141 Township Ave., Suite 305, Ridgeland, 601-908-3328, msrenova.com) / Strength Roofing and Siding (601-373-7254, strengthroofingandsiding.com)

Thanks for voting us a Finalist for

Best Tree Service July 22 - August 3, 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

in Best of Jackson 2020!

13

BEST OF JACKSON // HOME Best Local House Cleaner/Service: Marvelous Maids of Mississippi

Best Gardening Center: Lakeland Yard & Garden Center

(406 N. Bierdeman Road, Pearl, 601-631-4330)

Acacia Clark

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

This year, Lakeland Yard & Garden Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary of providing plant selections to Flowood and the surrounding areas.

The business does not merely sell plants and expect gardeners to do the rest. They educate their staff through Nurserymen certification programs, thus better enabling them to communicate with customers about growth cycles for plants and the best ways to care for them.

“We put new employees with older, more experienced employees in a one-on-one situation to help them get started. We also encourage them to take nursery certification exams and to take Master Gardener classes,” manager Toby Rogers said.

The 17-acre nursery is interested in the holistic development of its patrons’ lawns and gardens, offering a wide variety of outdoor living products, such as hummingbird feeders, adirondack chairs and rope hammocks.

The company provides customers with insights on how to best pair these furnishings and outdoor hardware with natural life, providing a “Home and Garden Showplace” template on its website for customers to design their landscaping around available shade, plant maintenance and watering systems.

Although the pandemic has prevented such services in recent months, Lakeland Yard & Garden Center hosted events for aspiring and avid gardeners alike to come together and learn more about the world around them and how they can apply that knowledge to their own backyards.

—Taylor McKay Hathorn

14

Finalists: Callaway’s Yard & Garden (259 Calhoun Station Parkway, Madison, 601-859-5444, callawaysyardandgarden.com) / Freshway Produce (6900 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland, 601-956-3727) / Hutto’s Home and Garden Center (1320 Ellis Ave., 601-973-2277) / Madison Garden Center (811 Madison Ave., Madison, 601-856-5554) / Martinson’s Garden Works (650 Highway 51, Ridgeland, 601-856-3078, martinsonsms.com)

Marvelous Maids sports an advertising line that few could argue against: “You know what would make house-cleaning more fun? A maid.”

The Pearl-based company provides just that, offering homecleaning services from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. for locals, Monday through Saturday.

Although the business will clean any residence, it specializes in preparing homes for moves, deep-cleaning homes before they are shown to potential buyers. Once the tidy house attracts a new owner, the Marvelous Maids will box household items for the move.

The company’s Facebook page features before-and-after photos of their handiwork, like an oven with caked-on grime that was transformed back into a spotless appliance after a single session with one Jamela AlexanderRogers of the five cleaning professionals.

Making such radical changes in home appearances is nothing new for the owner of Marvelous Maids, Jamela Alexander-Rogers.

“I started this business at 19 years old. I was working two 9-to-5 jobs, and I wanted to do something for myself,” she said.

Alexander-Rogers took a short break from her work with Marvelous Maids at the age of 21 to study public health in college, which she noted has benefited the company during the current pandemic.

“COVID was nothing new for my maids. We had already been implementing safety measures into our cleaning, so nothing had to change for us,” she said.

—Taylor McKay Hathorn Finalists: Advanced Steam Extraction (3165 Virginia St., Pearl, 601-664-2001, asenow.com) / Cheryl’s Cleaning Service (601-300-4292) / Foster Cleaning and Moving Service (1200 Shadow Wood Drive, Brandon, 601-291-7936, fosterscleaningandmoving.com)

Best Local Pest Control: Havard Pest Control (100 Business Central Parkway, Suite G, Pearl, 601-936-0309, havardpest.com)

Havard Pest Control’s Ridgeland headquarters is one of 12 offices serving Mississippi, Alabama and southern Louisiana. The company’s multiple branches and 100 employees enable them to provide 24-hour service service for both residential and commercial customers with pest problems.

Havard Pest Control’s wields multiple methods of ridding clients of these unwanted pests, large and small. To circumvent infestations entirely, the company offers preventative measures, advertising “shield treatments” for both pests and termites.

If pests are already present, Havard points to its two-step bedbug solution and its bait and liquid ministrations for termite infestations. For bigger pests, Havard has a number of humane removal options, such as live traps, glue boards and exclusion services.

Once a home or business has been rid of unwanted infestations, Havard implements regular follow-up appointments with a certified staff member who prioritizes the continued removal and prevention of pests.

For clients unsure of what kind of infestation they are experiencing, Havard provides a “Pest Library” on its website, complete with pictures and descriptions of various common household pests and suggestions for self-treatment in addition to company solutions.

—Taylor McKay Hathorn Finalists: Capitol Pest Control (939 Baytree Drive, Flowood, 601-919-9191, capitolpestcontrol. com) / Magnolia Exterminating Company (868 Foley St., 601-371-3388, magnoliapest.com) / Patches Pest Plus (125 Summit Ridge Drive, Brandon, 601-724-2701, patchespestplus.com) / Stutts Pest Control (601-919-2858, stuttspestcontrol.com)

courtesy Jamela Alexander

(4210 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-9397304, lakelandyardandgarden.com)

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AcAciA clArK

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Kemp’s Pool Service can locate the leak in your pool—and then fix it. The Clintonbased company specializes in detecting and repairing problems with swimming pool liners and equipment.

The company also empowers its clients to better care for their own pools, offering “Pool School” to teach customers how to balance pool chemicals and how to care for equipment properly. For those who would rather rely on the professionals, Kemp’s also offers weekly pool cleanings, chemical adjustments, and backwashes.

Kemp’s, which opened in 2014, sells a variety of equipment at its Springridge Road location, including Maytronics brand robotic pool cleaners and variable speed pumps. For the less technical and more fun-seeking water lovers, Kemp’s offers an array of inflatable pool floats.

The pool service also prides itself on installing up-to-date appliances and helping customers have more cost- and energy-efficient pools and spas.

“Come 2021, single-speed motors will become obsolete and will no longer be on the market,” office manager Jennifer Turner said. “We use the new, multi-speed pumps that are easy to operate and last a lot longer.”

Turner said the company is certainly prepared to bring its customers into the new age of pool operation, noting that they had installed 300 such pumps in the last three years.

—Taylor McKay Hathorn

Big John’s Tree Service has been a staple of the Jackson community for more than three decades. The company started out as a logging and firewood operation and eventually branched out to include full-service tree care and removal.

While tree removal can often become dangerous or messy, Big John’s endeavors to give its customers a different experience, providing proof of insurance to its customers and cleaning up any remaining debris once a job is completed. “We employ an awesome crew with very little turnover,” operator Ken Anderson said of his employees’ commitment to seeing such involved projects through to the end.

Anderson’s crew works around the clock to provide services, visiting homes after storms or other emergencies to assess and control tree damage, which he believes helps the business remain competitive both locally and in other areas—as the Flowood-based company boasts membership in customer- and environment-oriented groups such as the Better Business Bureau and TCIA, the “voice of tree care.”

—Taylor McKay Hathorn Finalists: Barone’s Tree Pros (2494 Highway 471, Suite A, Brandon, 601345-8090, baronestreepros.com) / Delta Tree Service (5717 Medgar Evers Blvd., 601-366-9656, deltatreems.com) / Kip’s Tree Service (7025 Highway 25, Brandon, 601-829-3748) / Tri-County Tree Service (1456 Douglas Drive, 601-940-5499, tricotreeservice.com)

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17

Lonely Farewells

On The Front Line Of Coronavirus

by Nick Judin

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

Dr. Andy Wilhelm and RN Ashley Moore’s medical intensive-care unit is strained to capacity with coronavirus patients.

ers who spoke to the Jackson Free Press, it is the cadence of their lives, the increasingly rapid drumbeat forcing the countless decisions they make in any given day.

“It’s more hours of work. It’s less time for patients. It’s less time talking with families. It’s knowing that when you spend less time with the person that you may not be taking as good care of them as you would’ve otherwise,” Wilhelm said.

“Nursing is all about time management,” said nurse Alex Marten, a pseudonym, whose ICU at a different Mississippi hospital is more than half COVID-19 patients. “It doesn’t necessarily require a lot of strength, or dexterity, but you have to manage 20 to 30 tasks at a time, all day. It’s like spinning plates.” And even the smallest mistake could cost a patient dearly, or expose the caregiver to the disease itself.

“These people are critically ill. Coronavirus patients are exceedingly complicated and exceptionally sick,” Wilhelm said.

“More sick than the typical non-coronavirus patients.”

“And with them, the details matter,” Moore added.

Details, endless details, emerging from the grinding torture to which the coronavirus exposes the human body. To call it a respiratory disease is darkly comic in light of the litany of damages Wilhelm lists: renal failure, strokes, clots, muscular degeneration, a vast and deadly constellation

of cardiac diseases. All require precise and dedicated care beyond the consistent respiratory symptoms, which are horribly lethal on their own.

Moore and Wilhelm’s unit serves coronavirus disease patients without coronavirus itself. The virus has already torn its way through their system, leaving them free of the cause and suffering from the symptoms. “Once the virus is gone, they’re left on dialysis—or they’re left on the ventilator because their lungs are too scarred to breathe adequately anymore,” Wilhelm said.

That lingering damage is just another reason the rapid spread of the virus so threatens the state’s health-care system.

Wilhelm describes the cyclical nature of treatment and recovering.

“You’re having the same conversation over and over again with patients: We don’t know if you’re going to live or not. ‘Am I getting better?’ Not really.

Or maybe a little bit. Or you’re still the same, three weeks in. … When you have to have that conversation every day...,” Wilhelm pauses, searching for the words.

“It’s difficult.”

UMMC Communications

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‘Exceptionally Sick’

For many Mississippians, coronavirus metrics are numbers on a screen. Plateaus become spikes, triple digits become quadruples. All-important data reduce the human catastrophe of the virus to a daily drip of vaguely threatening news. For Moore, Wilhelm and the many other health-care work-

UMMC Communications

A

shley Moore is saying goodbye.

She does not offer a traditional farewell, neither the last rites of a priest nor the comforting touch of family. “I’m gonna stay here with you the whole time to support you. I’m gonna make sure you’re comfortable,” she says to a breathless COVID-19 patient.

She places the ventilator on her patient, soothing the best that she can, treating the myriad complications of an organ system in terminal decline—but for many, little she can do helps, and nothing works.

“Hours later, days later, a week later ... they pass away,” Moore says in a later interview. The isolation, more than anything else, haunts her. “They didn’t get to talk to their children before they passed, or their loved ones. You are the last person they talked to.”

She said goodbye to a victim of coronavirus once again only days before her interview. For her, it was the 11th time. For Mississippi, it was one of more than a thousand lonely deaths just like it.

Moore is nurse manager at the University of Mississippi’s Medical Intensive Care Unit, a unit entirely devoted to severely ill coronavirus patients. She spoke to the Jackson Free Press alongside Dr. Andy Wilhelm, medical director for the same unit.

Both talked candidly about their fatigue and their resolve, and the urgency needed from all Mississippians as the virus rampages through the hospital system, leaving UMMC and many other hospitals across the state packed full of critically sick and dying patients.

“The hardest part for us is knowing that we’re operating at full capacity. And we know that there are a lot more people that are going to need critical care services over the next few weeks to months. We’re already going full speed. But we’re going to have to run faster,” Wilhelm said.

Catie Carrigan is a nurse at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Emergency Department, now inundated with COVID-19 admissions.

is a barely concealed fury. “We see people out in public places without masks all the time,” Moriarty added.

“I’m gonna be real honest with you,” Carrigan cuts in. “It just makes me really angry.”

Outside the walls of the ED, hoaxes swirl: laminated cards falsely inform store owners that the carrier is not legally obligated to wear a mask. Memes warn of bogus suffocation threats from masks that nurses and doctors regularly wear for days on end.

“Please don’t make this worse for us,” Moriarty said, suddenly sounding very tired. She repeats herself. “Please don’t make this worse for us.”

Minutes Lost, Lives Threatened

Across Mississippi, a flood of coronavirus is congesting ICUs and transfer routes alike. The Mississippi State Department of Health tracks the metrics daily: In July, months of cautious optimism dissipated in a matter of weeks. Data that previously depicted an uneasy and unending “plateau” now show horrifying upward trends in every category.

It started with syndromic surveillance: UMMC Communications

‘Please Don’t Make This Worse’

Below the Medical Intensive Care Unit lies the Emergency Department, the point of first contact for most patients who arrive at UMMC. There, RN Catie Carrigan and Dr. Risa Moriarty, executive vice chair of Emergency Medicine, attempt to stabilize everyone from trauma victims to a rising tide of the critically ill and coronavirus-afflicted.

“Working in the ER, we’re prepared for anything that comes through the door.

We take care of the sickest people in Mississippi,” Carrigan said in an interview with the Jackson Free Press. “That being said, I don’t think anybody could have prepared us for something of this velocity.”

The hospitalization numbers for COVID-19 lag behind new infections, but late June and July’s unprecedented spike has UMMC well beyond its capacity. It is the nightmare scenario that State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs predicted in grim detail only weeks before.

Back in March, immediately following the arrival of coronavirus in Mississippi, with the eyes of the nation fixed on the horror in New York, Carrigan and Moriarty braced for the worst.

“We had that feeling of the calm before the storm,” Moriarty said. But the surge didn’t come, not then. May brought an influx of COVID patients and those who had been delaying medical care, but the increase was manageable—for a while.

“Over the past two weeks, things here have become…,” Moriarty halts. “Very, very challenging.” Like Wilhelm describing his MICU, the urgency of the moment and the need for poise and calm pull her words in different directions. “I won’t say unmanageable, because we’re still trying, but this is the worst it’s ever been.”

Describing the situation by the numbers is easier. “Our hospital is at capacity.

We don’t have ICU beds. We don’t have (medical-surgical) beds. We are currently this morning boarding 35 people in the emergency department who need beds upstairs … We’re managing ICU patients down here in the ER. We’re managing other patients, some COVID, some not, but regardless, they don’t have any beds.

“St. Dominic and Baptist are in similar situations. All the large hospitals in the state are at capacity,” Moriarty says.

Carrigan is seeing things that should never happen in an emergency environment. “I had a trauma patient the other day that we kept in the ED for 36 hours,” she said. “He was there when I arrived for my shift one day, and he was still there when I arrived for the next.”

Both Carrigan and Moriarty have seen things that shatter the illusion that coronavirus is an affliction of the elderly or the already ill. For Moriarty, it was a patient in her early thirties, whose blood thickened and clotted, leaving her lungs riddled with pulmonary embolisms. For Carrigan, it is young, formerly healthy patients—the kind for whom the expected illness would be a week of dry coughing—sent up to inten-

“Please don’t make this worse for us,” begs Dr. Risa Moriarty, whose UMMC Emergency Department is the destination for many of Mississippi’s trauma victims.

sive care for ventilation and a slim chance of survival.

“Young people feel a bit invincible,” Moriarty laments. “COVID does not discriminate. It doesn’t care who you are.” And the onset of its most severe forms is terrifyingly quick: “You can be having a conversation one moment and on a ventilator the next.”

For the two ED workers, the issue of prevention is painfully simple. At times they plead for assistance from the public.

“All that we ask is that you wear masks, wash your hands and stay away from each other,” Carrigan said. “I just don’t think those are difficult steps to take … but we get pushback all the time.” At times, there

an unseasonable uptick in emergency-department visits for respiratory symptoms.

Then, the case numbers spiked. The false security of the hot summer months and an end to most official quarantine procedures drew out public gatherings beyond all sense and safety, and the numbers soared.

During the period between July 15 and July 21, only a single day dipped below 1,000 plus new cases, culminating in a staggering 1,635 new reports just before press time. The hospitalizations derived from these unprecedented numbers are yet to come, a tidal wave that Dobbs warns may swallow the system whole.

Hospitalizations inevitably follow the soaring numbers, with Dobbs estimating

85 hospitalizations for every 500 cases, ICU admission and ventilator use rising along with it.

On July 18, MSDH released data charting the remaining hospital capacity across Mississippi’s nine “health districts.”

District Five, which includes Hinds, Rankin and Madison County, as well as the state’s largest hospitals and only level-one trauma center, shows the most distinct lack of capacity across Mississippi.

But statewide, intensive care units and medical-surgical units show a near doubling of their COVID-19 patients over the last month, a trend Dobbs assured the Jackson Free Press on July 20 would continue with the spiking numbers.

“Within two weeks or so, we anticipate that we’ll exhaust our surge capacity,” Dobbs said. “We may be at crisis standards of care in the next few weeks if we’re not careful. If we don’t see a decrease in transmission immediately, then it’s pretty likely the health-care system is going to be overwhelmed.”

At this stage, the strain of coronavirus thoroughly endangers all Mississippians.

But the state’s existing inequities—chiefly unequal access to health care, which Dobbs discussed at length in an earlier interview with the Jackson Free Press—are further stressors on the state’s Black populations, which have remained disproportionately victimized by COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic in Mississippi.

To understand the full impact of coronavirus’ crushing weight requires looking beyond the upper-tier hospitals at the core of the system. Critical-access hospitals dot the lesser-populated regions of Mississippi like spokes on a wheel, many without active ICUs of their own.

They depend on a rapid system of transfers for many of their sickest or most injured patients, a transit network in which lives can be saved or lost in minutes.

“You come in, you’ve had a wreck— you’ve got brain trauma. We’re looking to fly you to UMMC because that’s the levelone trauma center in the state. Well, what if we can’t get you there because they’re at surge capacity levels and cannot take another patient?” asked Lee McCall, CEO of Neshoba County General Hospital in Philadelphia.

“We start looking at different hospitals. It takes 20, 30, 40 minutes longer to get you somewhere. Delays of care cause bad outcomes. Every minute counts,” McCall stressed. “That’s the scenario everyone’s dealing with.”

McCall admitted to struggling with explaining the severity of the situation to the community at large. “People just don’t understand it. They don’t get it.”

He recalled a particularly elusive more LONELY FAREWELLS p 20

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

All that we ask is that you wear masks, wash your hands and stay away from each other.”

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patient, discharged after receiving a COVID-19 test. “We call them, let them know they’re positive, that we had a hard time contacting them. ‘Oh, well, I’m sorry.

I’m out of town on vacation.’ You’re kidding me,” he said.

The patient was not kidding.

At South Sunflower County Hospital in Indianola, Infection Control and Employee Health Nurse Henley Harrell acknowledged the gridlock in the transfer system has them sending some patients out of Mississippi entirely. “We’ve had to transfer some to … Memphis and Little Rock. Bed availability has been difficult for COVID patients and others—trauma patients, things like that,” she said.

The weight of the pandemic has taken a physical and psychological toll on the state’s health-care providers. “We’re from a small town. We’re taking care of our own … our friends and our family. It has been very emotional for the staff,” Harrell said.

McCall had a laconic warning for the Mississippians still not taking the virus seriously: “Everything’s fine. So long as you don’t need the hospital.”

‘And Then You Lose Them’

Every doctor, nurse, technician and administrator interviewed for this story adamantly insisted on the basic principles of infection control that now underpin the state’s coronavirus prevention strategy.

Some raged, some wept. Most begged: Wear a mask. Stay distanced. Stay out of enclosed spaces. Stay out of large groups.

No region or county is spared the stress and suffering of coronavirus, from the orbit of Memphis to the center of the state, down to the Gulf Coast. Outside Mississippi, the situation looks equally grim: The out-of-state transfers that currently keep

the most dire cases moving are not permanently guaranteed.

In Jackson, at Moore and Wilhelm’s MICU, the onslaught is merciless. The ebb and flow of the virus have dictated their lives for weeks on end. So has the nation’s mercurial approach to its containment and treatment.

“It’s the most emotionally difficult thing I have taken care of as an intensive care unit physician,” Wilhelm said. “You put a lot of physical and mental equity in these folks. … You get to know them. You get to know their families—as best you can over the phone. And then you lose them.”

Every new treatment, every twist in the world’s understanding of the cruel virus at the source of the pandemic, leaves caregivers stricken with anxiety over past mistakes. “There’s always this question in the back of your mind: Are we doing this right?” Wilhelm said.

“Then you come in the following day just to do it all over again,” Moore added.

Wilhelm freely admits his sleep is fleeting and troubled. He tries desperately to quarantine himself from the barrage of news, repeating to him what he bears witness to on a daily basis. But there is little point in hiding. “It’s everywhere,” he said.

The images are constant, the work unrelenting. “We’re putting somebody on the ventilator while they’re crying at the same time—they’re looking up at you with tears rolling down the side of their face.

I’m pushing sedatives, putting them on life support,” Wilhelm described.

“You throw everything at them, kitchen sink,” Moore said.

And then they say goodbye.

State intern Julian Mills contributed to this report. Email state reporter Nick Judin at nick@jacksonfreepress.com.

MUSIC

Rapper Condo Bo Spreads Christian Message through the Metro

by Aliyah Veal

courtesy Condo Bo

courtesy Condo Bo

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

M

usic is entrenched in Jeremy Thompson’s Hallow Music Group, a music ministry family, he says. The Jackson native said his based out of Jackson that “promotes superbrother and cousins used to own a studio when natural growth and enlightenment to the he was a child and that he used to sit back and youth and unchurched,” a flyer says. The watch them make music. He played the snare drum in group’s mission is to show the youth and the marching band at Callaway High School and at Jackpeople who are not into church how to son State University. At family reunions, his family would work on their salvation by living righteoushave a talent competition, and his uncle, Jesse Thomply. The word hallow, which is found in the son, is president of the annual Jackson Music Awards.

Lord’s Prayer, means holy, which is the type

His background speaks for itself. of music Bo wants to make, he said.

It was not long before Thompson was hit with the Condo Bo is now working on an almusic bug and began rapping. He used to be a worldly bum called “Supernatural Sauce” and he rapper before God came to him and told him that secular already has one single out, “Keys to the music was not his calling, he said.

Kingdom” ft. Kidd Sirachi, with two more

“The Lord was telling me it’s 1,001 role models out singles to follow. The album will feature here for the world and for the streets. He wants somebody four Christian rappers from Jackson on the for him. He changed me into doing music for him because album. that’s what it’s all about in life anyway,” the rapper told the “Everybody is talking. They’re sauced Jackson Free Press. up, and I’m dripping in sauce. So I’m com Thompson said he was praying for God to bless him ing with the supernatural sauce,” he said. with doing non-Christian music, yet many topics in secular Bo said the youth love his music. They music like drugs, stealing and stunting on other people are listen to the beats at first and all of a sudden, images that do not align with God’s principles, he said. the words catch them. He’s been perform “How can he bless me with something that’s against ing his music in Jackson and McComb, him and that will go against his own word? He was saying Miss.; St. Louis and East St. Louis, Mo.; we need more role models for positive people that’s out here New Orleans, La.; and Selma and Mobile, and for the youth,” Thompson said.

Ala. While Bo enjoys taking the stage and

The artist goes by the name Condo Bo, a combinaperforming his music, he also takes the tion of his childhood nickname “Bo” and the nickname his time to minister as well. friends called him when he owned a condominium. Rap, “I don’t just go up anymore and do for him, is a bridge to help him communicate with the my raps and go. He brings me to talk to younger generation, a generation he said is more familiar people and do my testimony, so they can with hip-hop than old hymns and blues-influenced gospel understand where I can from and where I music. am now,” the rapper said. “It’s been someRapper Condo Bo says he was hesitant when God called him to do

“I’m glorifying God now. That’s my whole image,” the Christian rap, but now says he has found his purpose in using his times I’ll have a whole set going up, and I’ll music to connect with young people and share his message. rapper said. go up there and only do one and then start

It was not an easy road to get to where he is today, talking because that’s what he wants me to Bo said. After graduating from Jackson State University in but the rapper did not immediately welcome the change. do. I pray before I go up there and ask the 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology, he “At first, when the lord was telling me about gospel Holy Spirit to use me how he wants to use me.” got his own house, which he outfitted with a recording stu- music, I thought I couldn’t do it at all. I didn’t want to do Condo Bo said it’s not about blowing up or about dio. He and his friends used to freestyle and play around all gospel music. It wasn’t what I was into,” Bo said. “I was the money. The work he does is about praise and worship. the time, but he was not taking it seriously back then, he almost mad at God. ‘You won’t bless me with this, and you When audiences listen to his music, he wants them to unsaid. He was more focused on doing want me to do that.’ I said, ‘I’m not derstand that God can’t be put in a box. work behind the scenes. even rapping anymore.’”

“You can’t think that God won’t allow rap to come—

“I was more focused on trying

He stopped rapping. But because how can he touch every four corners of the world, to manage and not be in the scene as he learned more about God and if he’s speaking the same language or coming at people from because someone gotta know how to accepted Christianity as his faith, he the same avenue? You can have fun with God,” he said. do the business (and) the paperwork,” decided to approach rapping again.

Bo said that happiness is built off of circumstance, but Condo Bo said.

In 2017, he released his first Christian joy is forever and that he’s found joy and purpose in the

But he noticed that some of the rap project on SoundCloud, a four- music he makes. people around him did not have the song EP titled the “Full Armor.”

“(Joy) is eternity. It’s what the Lord gives you. You gotsame work ethic or vision that he had,

“It’s talking about the full ta choose to be joyful. No matter what your circumstances which made it hard for him to be a armor of God. The helmet of salva- are, you can still have joy in whatever you’re in. I’m on a manager. In light of this, he started tion, the shield of faith, the sword. I whole other level with the way I’m trying to live my life,” taking rap more seriously and got on Through his upcoming album, was just trying to see if I could even do he said. the mic himself. The transition into “Supernatural Sauce Vol. 1,” gospel music,” he said.

For more on Condo Bo, find Hallow Music Group on Christian rap started around 2015, Condo Bo shares his faith.

Since then, Bo has started Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

21

Education

Schools Reopen, Tri-County Battleplan Breakdown

by Dustin Cardon

Hinds County

Recently, the Hinds County School District Board of Trustees approved the district’s reopening plan for the 20202021 school year, which will have all district schools tentatively reopening on Monday, Aug. 10, with safety measures in place for students, faculty and staff. The Hinds County reopening plan includes options for virtual, in-person and hybrid learning for children.

As a measure to safeguard health at schools, staff will conduct daily temperature checks of everyone entering school buildings and will require anyone riding on school buses or entering a building to wear masks or face coverings, with limited medical exceptions. Staff members will sanitize all classrooms, common areas and buses daily.

HCSD is also asking parents to purchase masks and hand sanitizer of their own to prepare for the reopening.

HCSD will stock hand sanitizer in each classroom and every building and will conduct regularly scheduled handwashing for all students and staff. Students will stay in the same classroom the whole day and teachers will rotate to classes instead. All schools will have strict social-distancing rules in place for hallways and common areas, and students will eat meals in their classrooms or outside when possible rather than in the cafeteria. Buses will run at reduced capacity, with a maximum of 30 students per bus.

As part of a partnership with Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Medical Clinic, HCSD is also setting up clinics

EVENTS

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

Mississippi schools reopen this August, with social distancing and other health-conscious protocols.

where faculty will distribute information on children’s classes and on accessing the digital platform and tools HCSD will use this year. These meetings will take place by appointment on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and Wednesday, Aug. 5.

The HCSD Technology Team is also providing a series of “Parent Technology Academies.” The first was held on Tuesday, July 21, and further installments will be held Thursday, July 23, Thursday, July 30, and Friday, July 31.

Read the full HCSD plan at hinds.k12.ms.

Madison County

In the Madison County School District, students will start going back to school on a modified schedule starting Aug. 6., with in-person classes set to begin on Aug. 17.

Students will alternate in-person school days with days of distance-learning activities, with all students participating in distance learning on Aug. 14. On Aug. 17, students will return to school for in-person instruction for the remainder of the semester.

MCSD will provide a distance-learning option for students with medical or health concerns that may put them especially at risk from the COVID-19 pandemic. A form to enroll in virtual learning is available on the MCSD website through Friday, July 24. All MCSD school campuses will have Wi-Fi available outside if needed.

Bus drivers with MCSD will disinfect handrails, seat tops and entrance doors and place seat markings for social distancing. Drivers will also open roof hatches and windows for increased air flow. All students on buses will have to wear masks at all times.

MCSD will provide for student hand-washing and sanitizing before and after meal service, mark spaced lines to enter the cafeteria and serving lines, designate entrances and exit flow paths, and clean high-touch surfaces throughout each day, Gene Wright, director of communications for MCSD, says. Individual principals will determine social distancing rules for cafeterias, which are set to remain open.

Each school will determine its own dining rules.

For more information on MCSD’s reopening plan, visit mcssk12.org.

Rankin County

As detailed in its “Smart Restart” reopening plan, the Rankin County School District will begin the 2020 fall semester on Monday, Aug. 10. Schools will operate on

Looking for something great to do in Jackson? Visit JFPEVENTS.COM for more.

COMMUNITY

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that can perform COVID-19 tests in every school. School officials will identify possible cases, isolate any positive COVID-19 cases detected and conduct contact tracing in collaboration with the Mississippi State Department of Health, a release from HCSD says.

The district is currently registering parents for upcoming meetings with homeroom teachers in small groups, courtesy JPS

A

cross Mississippi, public schools are making plans to reopen in the fall despite the ongoing COVID19 pandemic. Local school districts are all making their own preparations and putting health, social distancing and other protocols into place to prepare for the attempt to return to in-person learning for students after months of school closures.

History Is Lunch Series July 22, July 29, Aug. 5, noon-1 p.m., via Facebook Live. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History hosts the series of lectures featuring guest speakers who present of varying topics. Livestreams of discussions available virtually through MDAH’s Facebook page. Free admission; call 601-576-6800; mdah.ms.gov.

Gorgeous Grandma Day July 23, 2-5 p.m., at The Blake at Flowood (350 Town Center Way, Suite A, Flowood). Participants walk the runway in their favorite outfits for the annual fashion show and photoshoot. Admission TBA; call 601345-2202; email info.flowood@blakeliving.com; find it on Facebook.

Southlife 2020 July 25, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., July 26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Trustmark Park Stadium (1 Braves Way, Pearl). The car and truck show includes vendors, music, a “Bass Wars” stereo competition, a limbo contest and more. Features drive-thru judging. Free to spectators. $42.95

outdoor parking, $75.95 parking + “Bass Wars” entry; 601-319-9167; email southlifecarshow@ gmail.com; find it on Facebook.

NAMI Mississippi’s Minority Mental Health Conference July 28, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., Virtual. NAMI hosts the inaugural minorityfocused, mental-health conference. Speakers present on mental health and provide resources for participants. Discounts available for active NAMI members and limited scholarships available for NAMI peers (individuals with a mentalhealth condition). $20 general admission; call 800-357-0388; email stateconference@namims. org; namims.org.

KIDS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secrets of the Sewer! July 8-22, 9 a.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.). The children’s museum presents its latest traveling exhibit based on the Nickelodeon television series. $10 admission; call 601-981-5469; email neely@mcm.ms; mschildrensmuseum.org.

SPORTS & WELLNESS Choreorobics Dance Off July 24, July 26, July 28, July 31, Aug. 2, Aug. 4, 5:30 p.m., Zoom.

Professional choreographers Roger & Tena host virtual hip-hop dance and fitness classes via Zoom. $7 per class, $10 two classes, $40 unlimited classes/month; call 601-853-7480; email choreorobics@yahoo.com; choreorobics.com.

STAGE & SCREEN Family Movie Night: “Trolls” World Tour July 31, 8 p.m., at Brandon Amphitheater (8190 Rock Way, Brandon). The theater holds a limited screening of “Trolls.” Gates open 7 p.m. $5 adult, $2 children (ages 10 and under); call 601724-2726; brandonms.org.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS The District Green LIVE July 23, July 30, 7-9 p.m., at The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive). The District opens its central community green space for people to view the live perfor-

mances held weekly by different artists. Social distancing required. Food available for purchase from nearby restaurants. Free admission, food and drink prices vary; call 601-914-0800; find it on Facebook.

Unpredictable Fridays July 31, 9 p.m., at 4th Avenue Lounge (209 S. Lamar St.). DJ Unpredictable 601 hosts at the bar. Food and drinks available for purchase. Social-distancing policies enforced. Admission TBA; call 601-259-5825; email iam4thavenue@gmail.com; Facebook.

Strung Like a Horse at Martin’s Downtown Aug. 1, 10 p.m.-, at Martin’s Downtown (214 S. State St.). The band—known for its signature brand of Americana, distilled from oldschool storytelling, newgrass instrumentations and alt-rock edge—performs live. Admission TBA; call 601-354-9712; find it on Facebook.

LITERARY “The Mysterious Messenger” Discussion July 25, noon, via Facebook Live. Author and illustrator Gilbert Ford discusses his book with Ellen Daniels of the Mississippi Book Festival through Lemuria’s Facebook page. Signed, first-edition copies available for purchase. Free admission,

‘Intrinsic Motivation’ and Jackson Education Support

Education

$16.99 signed copy; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

“Deep Delta Justice” Discussion July 29, noon, via Facebook Live. Matthew Van Meter discusses his book with author Jerry Mitchell on Facebook Live through Lemuria. First edition. Hardcover.

Signed. $28 signed copy, free discussion; call 601-366-7619; lemuriabooks.com.

“Memorial Drive” Discussion Aug. 1, 11 a.m., via Facebook Live. Pulitzer Price-winner Natasha Trethewey discusses her book with Kiese Laymon through Lemuria’s Facebook page. Purchase of book required to access event. First edition.

Signed. Members of the First Editions Club do not need to pre-order. $27.99 signed copy

E

ducational support professional Jillian Smart, CEO of Jackson Education Support, founded the business in 2012 with the goal of using her passion for teaching to help both children and adults develop as independent learners.

To that end, Jackson Education Services provides online and in-person services for educators, learners and their families, and presently boasts a 96% success rate among private tutoring and exam prep clients, its website

says. “In some places, educational support providers focus only on academics. Jackson Education Support leverages character development to affect cognitive development, which means that we teach to the whole child, dealing with the feeling part of learning as well as the thinking part.”

Student services primarily consist of private tutoring and exam prep, particularly for the ACT. Specialty subject areas include literacy, math and science.

Jackson Education Support provides safe one-on-one and online learning services.

says. Smart implements personalized services for each client to help them achieve their specific goals.

Smart’s approach toward instructing centers around boosting engagement and helping students become interested in learning so that once she equips them with the skills they need to succeed in their studies, the students are able to further their academic careers on their own.

“Understanding intrinsic motivation is very important to me,” Smart

and admission; call 601-366-7619; email info@ lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

Proud of her students, Smart notes that one high-school junior preparing for the ACT has improved his scores in the reading and science sections by practicing speed-reading strategies and that he recently earned a 33 in math on his latest practice test, whereas he had previously been able to correctly answer only half of the questions when he first began.

For educators, Jackson Education Support offers Google for Education training, PRAXIS exam prep,

required. Free admission; call 601-960-1515; email smainlay@aol.com; find it on Facebook.

ARTS & EXHIBITS

CREATIVE CLASSES

Art in Mind July 29, 1-2:30 p.m., via Zoom.

Licensed art therapist Susan Anand and associate curator Victoria Meek facilitate the program for individuals who are experiencing memory loss or mild cognitive impairment. Participants stimulate observation, recall and recognition at home with basic supplies. Registration required.

Free admission; call 601-496-6463; email mindclinic@umc.edu; msmuseumart.org.

Art Lessons: Live with Marshall Ramsey July 24, July 31, noon, via Facebook Live. Cartoonist Marshall Ramsey draws live for viewers while providing art tips and engaging with participants.

Free admission; call 601-533-4860; Facebook.

Creative Healing Studio Aug. 5, 12:30-3:30 p.m., via Zoom. The Mississippi Museum of Art holds the virtual art therapy session for adults who are being treated for cancer or who have had a cancer diagnosis in their past. Registration

BE THE CHANGE Virtual Dash ‘N Splash July 22-27, anytime, Virtual. The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi organizes the annual fundraising event as a virtual 5k. Participants receive a T-shirt and a $10 gift card to Kathryn’s. Participants encouraged to share photos and videos of themselves running, walking or rolling the distance while beating

academic intervention, custom engagement-focused class activities and more, and offers family engagement and instructional intervention coaching for parents, among other services.

Those interested in becoming a client may schedule an initial 90minute session through the business’ website to set up a profile, create a personalized learning plan and begin instruction.

Presently, Jackson Education Support has been tailoring its services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Moving forward, the goal is to observe social distancing and encourage clients to wear masks as we begin to support the new efforts of the local school districts by … reinforcing the material that is taught in class and providing support for the parents who are interested in seeking that support for the children,” Smart says.

Because distance learning incorporates technologies that parents or students may not fully understand, Jackson Education Support offers services that make sense of these tools and other elements of an online learning environment.

To help quell the spread of the coronavirus, Jackson Education Support’s learning center (2637 Ridgewood Road) is currently only available for existing clients.

The business also features a blog page on its website, which contains a number of resources and tips for educators, students and parents.

For more information on Jackson Education Support and its services, call 601-724-2152 or visit je411.com.

the heat on the event’s Facebook page. Awards include “Biggest Team Award,” “Most Team Spirit Award,” “Best Photo Award” and “Most Creative Video Award.” Ends July 27. $20-$25 registration; call 601-981-1021; raceroster.com.

West Jackson Rotary Club Virtual 5K Race Aug. 1, 8 a.m., Virtual. The Rotary Club of West Jackson organizes the back-to-school virtual 5k fundraising event. Participants may run or walk their distance anytime, anywhere and submit their results online through Aug. 1. Proceeds benefit the West Jackson community. Runners encouraged to share their race times, pictures and videos through the event’s official Facebook page and include the #WJRCRace2020 or #WJRCVirtualRace hashtags. $20 registration; raceroster.com.

Send your events to events@jacksonfreepress.com.

July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

EVENTS

by Nate Schumann

courtesy Condo Bo

an enhanced traditional learning program, which will require students to attend classes in-person every day, but with social distancing and increased sanitation protocols in place.

Modifications to regular operations include daily screenings and adjustments to transportation, campus arrival and dismissal, meal-service procedures and more.

Additionally, RCSD will be suspending the examination exemption policies that are based on attendance.

Parents who are concerned about sending their children to learn on campus can apply for the Choice Distance Learning Program. Students in Choice will be enrolled at their regular school, but they will participate in virtual learning and complete their assignments at home.

The content and the pace of the course load will match traditional school-curriculum experiences, and teachers will assist students in working through weekly assignments using interactive and independent activities.

Applications for the Choice program can be found on the RCSD website and are due on Friday, July 24, at noon.

Should state or local officials require stricter social distancing protocols with additional legislation later in the semester, RCSD plans to implement either a hybrid system, which will have students alternate between attending face-to-face and virtual classes, or the Brick2Brick Distance Learning scenario, which would move classes to online-only., depending

For the hybrid plan, students would be separated, largely evenly, into one of two cohorts. Students in Cohort 1 would attend face-to-face classes on Monday and Thursday and engage in distance learning on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Students in Cohort 2 would attend school in-person classes on Tuesday and Friday and learn virtually on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Students will be sorted alphabetically and assigned to a cohort by last name so that siblings may have the same schedule.

Under the Brick2Brick program, students would continue to receive instruction from the same teachers, while using digital systems such as Google Classroom, Canvas and Zoom. To learn more about RCSD’s reopening plan, visit rcsd.ms.

See Jackson Public Schools’ plan on page 7.

Deputy Editor Nate Schumann contributed to this article. Send education-related story tips to dustin@jacksonfreepress.com.

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FOOD&DRINK

Seasonal Goodies Galore, Local Farmers Market Lineup

by Nate Schumann

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Freshway Produce (6900 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland, 601-956-3727, find it on Facebook) Freshway Produce is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is closed on Sundays.

Rivers Market (20 Willow Creek Lane, Byram, 601-373-4545, find it on Facebook) Rivers Market is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cockrell’s Farmers Market (1307 Old Fannin Road, 601-919-1690, find it on Facebook) Cockrell’s Farmers Market is also open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is closed on Sundays.

Bill’s Produce (5311 Highway 80 E., Pearl, 601-932-9449, find it on Facebook) Bill’s Produce is open from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Adcox’s Watermelon & Fresh Produce (Woodrow Wilson Avenue and West Street, 601-720-9955, find it on Facebook) Adcox’s Produce is open all seven days of the week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

CM

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July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

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ummers in Mississippi often mean sweltering heat, but we Jacksonians know that summer also serves as the peak of farmers market season.

Numerous scholarly articles have presented evidence that going outside and experiencing nature can alleviate stress and have positive effects on mental health. As such, visiting one of the many local farmers markets in the metro may brighten your day as well as fill your refrigerator.

Plus, open air is far healthier to walk through than the isles of closed-in grocery stores.

So, grab your favorite mask and some pocket hand sanitizer and treat yourself to some produce that Mother Earth has helped local farmers prepare just for us, as well as some other goodies. Take a gander at the list of options to find one near you that tickles your fancy.

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Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St., 601-354-6573, mdac.ms.gov) The Mississippi Farmers Market is open on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

www.easykale.com

Doris Berry’s Farmers Market (3615 Highway 80, Pearl, 601-664-0050, find it on Facebook) Doris Berry’s Farmers Market is open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wright’s Fruit Stand (839 Highway 49 S., Richland, 601-939-0043, find it on Facebook) Wright’s is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Sunday.

Callaway’s Yard and Garden (259 Calhoun Parkway, Madison, 601-859-5444, callawaysyardandgarden.com) Callaway’s is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays.

Vicksburg Farmers’ Market (1010 Levee St., Vicksburg, 601-801-3513, visitvicksburg.com) The Vicksburg Farmers’ Market is open from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturdays through July 29.

Food story tips: nate@jacksonfreepress.com.

PHOTO BY SVEN SCHEUERMEIER ON UNSPLASH

Summer’s harvests have supplied plenty of locally sourced produce and goods found at farmers markets.

DO-IT-YOURSELF

Six Sizzling Summer Activities for Families

by Michele D. Baker

W

hen I was a child in the 1970s, summers were far out. School ended just after Memorial Day, and we had three whole months to explore, and play, and have fun before heading back to the classroom after Labor Day. We played outside every day—TV was

strictly regulated to after dinner, and only if homework and chores were done. The few available channels showed cartoons only on Saturday mornings from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

My dad was a master at coming up with fun things to do. We did most things as a family, or as a family with a few other

neighborhood kids. We climbed trees, rode double on our bikes, had pocketknives, used needles and thread, baked in a hot oven and got filthy in the yard. But our parents weren’t uptight about any of it, man. Everyone was feeling groovy!

So unpack your bell-bottoms and

halter-tops and disco your way through this list of six fun, old-school things to do with your kids in these final days of summer vacation. What really sets these activities to the max is that these ideas are all things that can be done in ways that are safe, despite the current pandemic.

PixaBay

Idea #3:

Create a container herb garden. Local plant nurseries and other lawn and garden stores carry seeds and seedlings. Easyto-grow herbs include basil, mint, chives, sage, coriander, parsley and rosemary. All you need is some potting soil, a few rocks for drainage, and clay pots (or use recycled materials like wide mouth jars and plastic milk jugs). Carefully plant seeds or seedlings and place in a sunny spot. Water daily and watch them sprout, usually within a week, and harvest your bounty.

Idea #4:

Scavenger hunt. Working backward, choose five or so locations throughout the house and yard. Craft clues, riddles or poems that lead the children to find and decipher the clues leading to the next destination. Feel free to come up with some fun prizes for your successful sleuths, like a new toy or an extra dessert.

Idea #5: Idea #1:

Grow frogs. Find frogspawn—clumps of clear “jelly” containing hundreds of little black dots—in the shallows of still and slow-moving fresh water. In a large glass jar or small aquarium, collect some water, gravel, plants (with the roots) and a scoopful of the frogspawn or tadpoles. Over the course of six to 12 weeks, watch as the eggs hatch and the tadpoles grow legs, lose their tails and eventually become tiny frogs that you can then release back to nature.

Idea #2:

Backyard camping. Venture into the great beyond right in your own backyard. Set up the tent, unroll the sleeping bags, and roast hot dogs and marshmallows on sticks over an open fire. At night, turn off all the yard lights and sleep under a canopy of a million twinkling stars.

Idea #6:

Assemble a Time Capsule. Start with a shoebox or other small container. Space permitting, allow each family member to put in five to 10 items, such as a favorite CD or DVD, report cards, birthday cards, a grocery receipt for one week’s food, the front page of a newspaper, a copy of Grandma’s secret cookie recipe, love letters and current photographs (write names and dates on the back). Seal the box with tape, label it “Time Capsule: Do Not Open Until 2030” and put it on a high shelf or in the attic, or if you’re feeling especially whimsical, bury it in your own yard.

Michele D. Baker is a travel writer and photographer. For more on her work, or to browse more activity ideas, visit MicheleDBaker.com/1970.

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July 22 - August 4, 2020 • jfp.ms

Mississippi is rife with creeks and riverbeds full of tadpoles, perfect for the first of Baker’s list of ’70s-inspired summer activities for kids, growing frogs.

Research your family tree. Learning one’s family background can help establish a stronger sense of identity. Dig out all the old photo albums. Call Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Ralph to identify any people you do not know. Interview and record family members telling stories about what they used to do as children, and then use the photos and recorded interviews to create a family scrapbook, family-tree poster and/or an online family history.

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36 “Par ___” (airmail stamp) 39 “The Raven” poet 40 Internet connection need 41 O’Rourke who’s running for president 42 Rule, briefly 43 “Epic ___ Battles of History” 44 Star of “An American in Paris” and “Gigi” 47 Tiny pellets 50 Period to remember 51 Spring setting 52 Outworn 53 Author Harper 54 Guitarist/songwriter for System of a Down and Scars on Broadway 58 Basketball game site 60 Rho preceders 61 Talks gibberish 62 Herpetologist’s study 63 1099-___ (annual tax form from the bank) 64 Arthouse film, probably 65 Designation at some meat markets 66 Pub. staffers 67 Aviary abodes

BY MATT JONES

27 Make a tunnel 28 E pluribus ___ 31 New York county near Pennsylvania (or Pennsylvania county near New York) 32 Each 33 Tarot character 36 Competent 37 Change course suddenly 38 “Let’s shake on that” 39 Dessert that may include molasses 40 Dialect spoken by nearly a billion people 42 Taken-back merchandise 43 Sushi form

Last Week’s Answers

45 Eurovision Song Contest 2019 host 46 Friars Club functions 47 Window coverings 48 Hit from “Thriller” 49 They account for taste 55 “Puppy Love” songwriter Paul 56 Pay attention to 57 Orson Welles’s “Citizen ___” 58 Campfire remains 59 “Messenger” material

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“Your Choices Are” --out of four options.

Across

1 Hearty drink 6 Pen name?

9 Video game designer Sid who created the “Civilization” series 14 Three-time World Series of Poker winner Stu 15 “Deep Space Nine” security officer 16 Egyptian-born children’s singer 17 Ecuadoran province once famous for its gold 18 Wasabi-coated veggie 19 “Dark Side of the Moon” album

image 20 Legendary producer of “Charlie’s Angels” and “7th Heaven” 23 Renaissance Faire org.

24 Fill in ___ blank 25 Unruly bunch 26 “Sit, ___, sit. Good dog” (‘80s TV vanity card) 29 Ouija board reply 30 Washington Post editor portrayed by Liev Schreiber in “Spotlight” 33 Info page on many sites 34 Gerund finish 35 Country with a red-and-white flag

1 Somewhat seasick 2 Loosen your boots 3 Ancient Greek marketplaces 4 Card game that sounds like an ancient ruler 5 Jagger, to the Stones, e.g.

6 The Big ___ (“Chantilly Lace” singer) 7 Notion, in France 8 Site of a pit crew?

9 Dr Pepper rival renamed in 2001 10 Take home pay 11 “Saw that coming” 12 It makes up half the riffraff?

13 Goblet’s edge 21 1996 Dream Team nickname 22 “___ Shot” (2019 Seth Rogen movie)

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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

“How can I communicate to wild bunnies that I am their ally?” asked a Twitter blogger named Ghost Girl. That question is a good place to start my oracle for you. In the coming weeks, I think you’ll be wise to meditate on how to enhance your relationship with all kinds of wild things: animals, people, weather, landscapes, and your own exotic thoughts and fantasies. In my opinion, you will upgrade your intelligence and well-being by increasing your access to influences that don’t necessarily play by conventional rules and that draw their energy from primal sources.

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Insurance It’s never too late to have a rebellious adolescence—hopefully bigger and better and smarter than any you’ve had before.

And according to my analysis, now would be a favorable time to get started. Is there any stuffy authority you’d be wise to flout? Any dumb and oppressive conventions you would benefit from breaking? Any stale old traditions you’re primed to ignore so you can create some lively new traditions? In my estimation, you will generate good fortune for yourself if you try some benevolent mischief and creative experiments.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Your word of power for the coming weeks is ubuntu, a Zulu term meaning “I am because we are” or “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.” Nobel Prize-winning theologian Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes, “A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished.” I hope that between now and August 25, Libra, you will put ubuntu at the center of everything you do. Make it an intensely practical practice.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them,” says Scorpio-born Liberian politician Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” I trust you’ve arrived at this realization on your own in the past few weeks. And I hope you have audaciously expanded and supercharged your dreams so that they do indeed surpass your current ability to accomplish them. If you have not yet done this daring work, please attend to it now. If you have done it, move on to the next step: making definite plans to acquire the power and resources necessary to achieve your new, improved dreams.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

“The soul should always stand ajar,” wrote Sagittarian poet Emily Dickinson, “That if the heaven inquire, / He will not be obliged to wait, / Or shy of troubling her.” I’m confident that this will be a fertile meditation for you in the coming weeks.

So what does it mean? By “heaven,” I assume Dickinson meant marvelous interventions, sacred revelations, and lucky accidents—and maybe also soulful invitations, out-of-theblue opportunities, and supernatural breakthroughs. What do you think, Sagittarius? What can you do to make your soul ajar for phenomena like those?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

“Everything is complicated,” wrote poet Wallace Stevens. “If that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.” I agree! And therefore, I conclude, you should shed any resentment you might feel for the fact that our world is a crazy tangle of mystifying and interesting stories.

Drop any wish that life will stop being so fascinatingly messy and confusingly intriguing. Instead, why not celebrate the deep riddles? And revel in the intriguing complexity? And give holy thanks for the paradoxical beauty? Everything I just said should prepare you well for the next four weeks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

You’ll be extra sensitive to stimuli in the coming weeks.

Every little event will touch you more intensely than usual.

Every perception will flow into you with an unusually strong potential to move you and influence you. That’s why I think you should be vigilantly self-protective. Erect a psychic shield around yourself. Make sure your boundaries are firm and clear. Affirm your unshakable commitment to deflecting

vibes that aren’t of use to you and welcoming vibes that will enhance your well-being.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow founded Goop, a company that markets exotic, expensive health treatments. She claims that far-infrared gemstone therapy and crystal-based soundhealing baths will dissolve your negativity. Allowing bees to sting your scars will supposedly cause the scars to fade.

Drinking “sex juice,” a blend of watermelon and alkaline water, will enhance your libido. The “collagen martini,” which is a mix of vodka, vermouth, olive juice, and collagen peptides, will smooth your skin’s wrinkles. I’m favorably disposed to you taking strong actions to improve your well-being in the coming weeks, Pisces, but I recommend that you try cheaper, more reliable modalities than those Paltrow recommends.

Like what? Ample sleep and good food, for starters, along with fun exercise, time in nature, enjoyable meditation sessions, and tender expressions of love.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

“The creation of the world did not take place once and for all time, but takes place every day.” Aries playwright Samuel Beckett made that observation, and now I’m passing it on to you as you glide into an extra-creative phase of your astrological cycle. I hope you will regard Beckett’s idea as an open-ended encouragement to improvise and experiment.

May it rouse you to brainstorm about novel possibilities. May it inspire you to explore fresh trends you could launch. May it mobilize you to imagine the new worlds you might *Big Bang* into existence.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Author Diane Ackerman tells us, “So often loneliness comes from being out of touch with parts of oneself.” That’s the kind of loneliness I worry you may be susceptible to right now, Taurus. You’re a bit out of touch with aspects of your psyche that are crucial for you to include in your total sense of self.

You’ve been neglecting to nurture certain soulful qualities that keep you healthy and wise. Please note: It won’t be useful to try to find those parts of you in other people; you will have to locate them in your own depths. Here’s the good news: The coming weeks will be an excellent time to do just that.

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

“Someone ought to do it, but why should I?” Author and activist Annie Besant identified that sentence as the motto of people who are moral cowards: those who know about an injustice but do nothing to address it. Very few of us have completely avoided that behavior. Most of us, including me, have now and then chosen to serve our need for comfort instead of standing up against corruption or unfairness. But I think it’s more important than usual that you Geminis don’t engage in such moral cowardice now. More depends on your integrity and bravery than you realize.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Born in 1936, Cancerian author and activist June Jordan was a black feminist bisexual born to Jamaican immigrant parents. When she was growing up, her father beat her and her mother committed suicide. Later, she raised her child alone as a single mother. Despite the challenges she faced, she published 28 books, won numerous awards, and wielded significant influence. How did she do it? She was a highly evolved Cancerian in the sense that she put a priority on treating herself well. “I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect,” she testified. I’d like to make that your keynote for the rest of 2020. Your task is to achieve June Jordan-levels of self-care.

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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

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